Last Chance
by Yo-Yo Kirby
Summary: A story following a teenager named Bryan who gets caught up in a whirlwind of chaos while playing a new game
1. Chapter One

             I, Yo-Yo Kirby, obviously do not own neither Bandai or the .hack//SIGN franchise. However I wish I did…. and I thank Bandai for bringing such a great series to the PS2.

Last Chance

A .hack//infection fan fiction written by Yo-Yo Kirby

Part One- When Worlds Collide 

                             **Prologue**                                 ****

            "Stupid computer." Bryan looked closely at the error window that had popped up. 

'_Program has preformed an illegal operation and will be shut down.'_ He clicked on the 'OK' button. '_Installation will not be complete if you close now. Exit Setup?'_ Bryan grunted and clicked 'OK.' The installation window disappeared and the screen was, yet again, at the desktop. Bryan sighed and leaned back in his computer chair. He's a good-looking kid, with unruly brown hair that covers his forehead and sharp facial features. He wears stylish wire-frame glasses, and his face conveys a certain gentleness about him. His large green eyes scanned the top of the ceiling as he leaned back in thought. His room is somewhat of a unique blend of both tidy and messy. Dirty clothes line the walls and yet, his computer desk is dusted and carefully organized. Posters of video games are plastered over the bedroom wall and a shelf carrying all his Playstation 4 games is slightly messy, as it has been used quite often. 

            Bryan opened the DVD drive and took out the disk. He scrutinized the shiny DVD for any defects or scratches, and slipped it back inside. "I really need to get rid of Windows." He murmured to himself as he waited for the D: drive to auto-setup. His computer runs on Windows '07, a bit outdated in the year 2010. He has been intending to upgrade, or even get the new Altimit. It would have to be burned, of course. Bryan would never spend money on any program he could easily get on the net. Finally, the setup window appeared, with '_The World_' covering half of the screen. Bryan selected 'Auto-setup' and patiently watched as the little bar went back and forth. The bar slowly finished it's digital journey across the screen, and the title screen of '_The World'_ popped onto his screen. "_The World, _huh?" Bryan pondered as he moved his cursor across the screen. 

It was an unusual name for a video game, but then again, this was no ordinary game. This was '_The World,'_ a MMORPG, or for people who can't speak computer nerd: Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. There had been games like this in the past, such as Sony's enormously popular series, '_Everquest_' in the late 1990's and early 2000's. But that game was nothing compared to this giant. This game had extremely high levels of realism, and goggles that you wore to make it seem as though you were actually there. You could get sucked into this game, and never come out, save for bathroom breaks and the occasional thing to eat. Bryan had felt doubtful that a RPG could be this good, but 20 million people, (10 million in Japan alone) can't lie, can they? Not that Bryan would actually _buy_ the game, of course. He downloaded a pirated version off of some Canadian site. Bryan carefully entered the DVD-key which he had gotten off of the web as well. 

Bryan smiled as the game verified and registered his version of _The World._

"Now, to start." He clicked on the Log in button. A window came up entitled "Character Creation." A large chart of bars and statistics was below it. Bryan frowned. He wasn't especially fond of online RPG's. In fact, he had only tried the damn thing because his friend Justin insisted on it. In a rush to rid himself of the screens, he clicked random things. 

"Wavemaster? Sounds cool." Click.  

"Low HP parameters? Whatever." Click.

"Character Skin? Whatever." Click.

"Name? Hmm…" Bryan leaned forward in his seat as he struggled to think of a name. A sudden inspiration came over his face. He typed in: _Reid_. "It sounds cool, at least." He assured himself. At last, Bryan finished the tedious process, and pressed 'Log in' again. A smaller window popped up. 

_User Name:_

_Password:_

Bryan frowned in frustration. This was why he disliked these games. There was simply too much stuff to remember. He typed in his name and password.

_User Name:_ Reid

_Password:_ ******** 

Click. 

_The Plug and Play Altimit goggles and/or Altimit gamepad is/are not plugged in._

"Oh yeah, I forgot about those." Bryan lifted from the floor a set of goggles which he plugged into the back of the computer. "There." He slipped on the goggles. A LCD screen inside the goggles showed him his computer screen. He re-clicked the 'Log-in' button. His computer screen went blank. And in the Delta Server Root Town, a Wavemaster by the name of Reid logged on. 

Chapter One 

World's Crash

            "What do ya mean I can't hold more than 40 different items? That totally sucks!" Rain leaned back against the city wall and glared at the large framed man in front of her. Orca smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. You won't be needing that much space for a while." He turned to look at the Chaos Gate, a few feet away. He was very brawny, and green war-paint covered most of his body and face. He firmly held a large sword that almost shone as though it was on fire. "Are you waiting for someone?" Rain demanded. She was a pretty brown-haired girl about half of Orca's size. On her back she held a giant sword almost bigger than herself. She wore a typical female Heavy Sword outfit, which was a bit immodest for most people. 

Orca shifted his eyes to her. "Yeah. A buddy of mine just started today. I'm gonna show him the ropes." He shifted his attention back to the Chaos Gate. She stomped impatiently. "Hey, but _I_ just started today too. Aren't ya going to help _me_?" 

"Not if you keep whining."

"Hmph."

Suddenly, a person logged in. A Wavemaster with a light green cloak stumbled onto the new ground, unfamiliar to him. He had silver-colored hair, most of which was covered under his hat. His large green eyes surveyed the town. Rain nudged Orca.

"Hey, is that the guy you're waiting for?" 

Orca scanned the newcomer with his eyes. "Nope. He's a newbie alright, but not the one I'm looking for." 

                        *                                  *                                  *                                  *          

The newbie took a couple steps and looked around in amazement. He had never seen anything like this before. A small Venice-esqe city, completely filled with other people online. He looked at himself. He was wearing some sort of stylish cloak and hat. And carrying a large wooden rod, he noticed. He glanced again across the town. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large man and a girl. The girl was looking at him and talking to man. Then the man looked at him, and talked to the girl. Curiously, he walked over to where they where standing. Carefully, he approached them.

            "Um….hi… I-I'm kinda new here." He stuttered. The girl smirked. "So we noticed." She said smugly. The large man glanced at her for a second, and turned to him. 

"Hello. The name's Orca." He nodded towards the girl. "This is Rain, she just started today too." He said kindly.

"Hey! Don't tell him that!" She pouted.

"So… what's your name?" Orca asked.

"Um…. it's B-…. Reid." Reid stammered. Orca smiled understandingly. 

"It takes some getting used to, but try not to use your real name."

Reid shifted back and forth a little. "Okay, I'll try."

Orca took a few steps towards the Chaos Gate. "Well, I've got to get going pretty soon. My friend's going to be here any second." 

"But what about me?" Rain pouted again.

Orca paused for a second, lost in thought. He looked at Rain, then at Reid and then back to Rain.

"Well, why don't the both of you go on a quest?"

Both Rain and Reid looked at each other at the same time. Rain started, "Well…uh…"

"Great!" Orca grinned. "Well then, get up to the Chaos Gate." 

Rain and Reid both walked up to the large spinning mirror-like portal gate. 

"Now, have you been any fields before?" Orca asked them.

Rain blushed a little. "Yeah, but I, uh… died."

"Well, I'll send you guys to an newbie field. Just make sure you don't enter the dungeon, okay?" Orca faced the portal, pausing for second. 

Reid felt like asking something, but didn't have enough time to say it. 

"Um… Orc-"

"I'll see you guys later!" Orca smiled as both Reid and Rain warped into the air. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two 

Anxious for battle

            As soon as Reid watched the waves of light cover his body, he felt strangely calm for a few seconds. Then, as soon as the light had come, it disappeared. Reid gaped at the beautiful scenery around him. A clear blue sky with small wispy clouds covered the horizon, and the rolling hills of green grass almost felt as tho-

"Hey! Are you going to daydream the entire time!?" Snapped Rain. "Pay attention." 

Shaking his head, Reid glanced at Rain. She looked really irritated. 

"Well, what do we do now?" Reid asked.  She shook her head disapprovingly. "Man, you _are_ hopeless." Reid frowned at the snide remark.

"What are we supposed to do then?" He asked again. Rain took out her enormous sword and waved it around carelessly. 

"We'll battle stuff." She told him as she swung it around some more. Reid was confused. 

"What stuff? You mean…monsters?"

She stabbed the ground and leaned on her sword. "Yeah, them."

"How?"

She sighed. "It's too hard to explain." She muttered. "All we have to do is walk to a magic portal and the monsters come out, okay?" 

"Oh, um….okay, I guess." Reid looked down at his shoes for a few seconds, and as he raised his head, he spied something in the distance. "Is that big yellow thing a magic portal?" He pointed to the mysterious object shining in the sunset.

Rain turned around and tried to match his gaze. She squinted her eyes, and then turned back to Reid. "Um, that's a big rock." 

"Oh…." Reid felt his face burn a bright red, although he wasn't sure if it showed in the game. A minute passed. Rain just silently stood there, facing the sunset. Reid paused for a second to ask Rain something, and then stumbled over the wording. "What?" Rain asked. 

"Umm…can we, uh, go?" Reid asked weakly. Rain picked up her sword casually, "Sure. I mean, if you want to." She started walking down towards a large tree. Reid stood there for a second, thinking. Was that… _nervousness_ he had detected in her voice? He quickly shook his head and ran off after her.

            They both slowly approached the large tree. Beside it floated a large circle that somewhat reminded Reid of a more primitive version of the Chaos Gate. They stopped about 10 feet away from the floating demi-sphere. A minute slowly passed.

"Well, are you gonna activate it or what?" Rain nudged Reid. Reid stumbled a couple feet towards the gate. Suddenly, the gate dissolved and out of the sparkling lights stepped a… goblin.

It charged at Reid and swung a sharp dagger at him. "Whoa!!" Reid dodged the attack and fell backwards. "Ahh! Kill it! Kill it!!" Rain was shrieking as the goblin started the attack her. 

"Kill it!" Suddenly, Reid angrily screamed back. "_You've_ got the over-sized sword! _You_ kill it!"

Rain grabbed her sword and started swinging wildly at the air. "Argghh!!!" 

"Hey, hey, watch it!!" Reid yelled as she came swinging blindly over towards where Reid was lying on the ground. "Oof!" The side of Rain's blade smashed into the Reid's head. 

"Owww!!! Watch where you're swinging that thing!" Reid rubbed the back of hid head with his hand. Rain continued swinging around while the goblin stood there, watching this amusing act with the utmost interest. After the initial pain of a sword being swung at his head, Reid painfully got up, walked over to the goblin, who was more interested in Rain's strange tactics than Reid, and smashed the goblin over the head with his rod. The goblin crumbled into the crash and disappeared.

            Reid just stood there for a couple moments watching Rain, who for some uncanny reason didn't figure that the battle was over, swing blindly at the tall grass. He finally called her over.

"Rain! The battle's over, you know." 

She stopped swinging and opened her eyes. "Oh." Then she collapsed on the grass, exhausted. She raised her head to look at Reid. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" She gave him a shaky smile.

He didn't return the smile. Instead, he looked into the sky and sighed. His eyes followed a cloud that moved across the horizon. Behind him, Rain, who was clearly humiliated, attempted to look like she was inspecting her sword for defects. The shadow of the tree slowly turned like a sundial's shade and covered them both. Reid looked again at the sky, and smiled.

He turned around to face Rain, who was dumbfounded to see him grinning. 

"That _was_ fun," He exclaimed happily. "Let's do it again!"


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three 

System Error

            After battling monsters for a while, Rain eventually got better at hitting the actual monsters, and not striking innocent bystanders. They became quite an effective team, with Rain rushing with her sword while Reid both healed and used attack magic. After a particularly easy battle, Rain grew restless and stretched. "Hey, let's head into the dungeon. There's bound to be some stronger monsters down there." Rain suggested. The suggestion seemed to be all she needed, because she started to walk down the hill to an old crumbled building without listening to Reid's response. Reid ran after her clumsily, stumbling as he caught up to her. "Um, didn't Orca say _not_ to head into the dungeon?" 

Rain shrugged, sword dangling from her hand. 

"Hey, that was a while ago. We can handle them now." 

Reid raised his eyebrows. "You sure?" Rain turned around. "Of course, _I_ am." She playfully punched Reid in the arm. "The question is, are _you _ready?" She teased.

Bryan gripped his weapon tightly. "Yeah, I guess." 

            They both walked closer to the field dungeon. It appeared to be a crumbled old building that had stairs going down into the cellar. Moss grew on the eroded old house, and birds had made nests on the roof's frame, as the roof was no longer there. The steps were worn down and small plants grew through the cracks and lines of the bricks. Rain walked down the steps first. She stopped at the base of the stairs, in front of the doorway. She peered into the narrow passage, but couldn't see anything but the inky darkness inside.  Turning around, she faced Reid, who was standing at the top of the stone staircase. Reid had a bad feeling about entering the dungeon. It seemed the darkness of the doorway of reaching out to strangle him. He shifted his feet nervously. "I'm not sure about this, Rain." He called down the steps. 

"Why? Are ya _scared_?" She teased him again. "No, I'm not scared." He muttered to himself. "Just…got a bad feeling." 

Down the steps, Rain was growing impatient. "C'mon Reid! If you don't come down now, I'm going by myself! This is your last chance!" 

Last chance. It's just a game, Reid thought to himself. There's nothing to be worried about. What could possibly go wrong? He threw away his worries and stepped down the cold stones and stood next to Rain. 

"Finally!" She threw her hands dramatically into the air and tugged him inside.

*                                  *                                  *                                  *

            They slowly walked through the musty stone corridor. The place seemed to have a catacomb-like feel to it. It was very small and cramped, and the creepy corpses hanging off the walls didn't help either. "Pretty creepy." Rain commented as she led through the dank passageway. "Yeah, no kidding." Reid followed closely behind her. _Tap. Tap._

Reid quickly spun around with his weapon in hand. Nothing was there. 

Must have been water dripping or something, Reid thought. He continued following Rain. 

_Tap. Tap._ That was definitely not water. He spun around again. Again, nothing.

            "Reid, what's your problem?" Rain stopped, hands on her hips. Reid still stared down the old passage. "Can't you hear that noise?" 

Rain shrugged. "I don't hear any noise. You're probably listening to background music or something." 

"I dunno." Reid responded. "I feel like we're being…watched." Rain shrugged again. "I'm not surprised. This place _is_ pretty creepy. Oh well." Rain continued on her way. Reid looked carefully down the hall. Nothing. That's pretty strange, he thought to himself. I knew I heard _something._ Or maybe I'm being paranoid. Who knows? Reid turned and ran after Rain, who was a little ahead.  He caught up to her.

"Geez, does this hallway ever end?" Rain complained. "I wanna fight something."

Reid rolled his eyes. They continued walking. _Tap. Tap._ "There!! Can you hear it?" Reid grabbed Rain's shoulder. "No." Rain answered without turning around. Reid kept walking but looked behind him. The light from above ground was too faint to see anymore. Their only source of light came from the burning torches on the walls. Not that it was much of a light source. The flickering made everything seem creepier. _Whump. _Reid walked into Rain, who had stopped walking. 

            "What is it? Why did we stop?" Reid peeked around Rain to see what she was staring at.

A dead end. Rain was confused, "What? That doesn't make any sense. We didn't even pass any doors, did we?" 

"No." Reid replied meekly. 

"Hmm…" Rain began feeling around the bricks of the dead end. "Maybe there's a secret passage or something." 

"Or a glitch." Reid commented.

_Tap. Tap._ Now Reid just ignored it. _Tap. Tap._ _Tap. Tap._ That was it. Reid turned around slowly. 

"Huh!?" A person was walking towards them. A woman dressed in a dark cloak. "Hello!?" Reid called to her. She didn't answer, but continued walking towards them. Rain turned around. "Who are you talking to?" She asked while leaning against the wall. Reid pointed to the woman, who was coming closer. "Her." Rain leaned forward and stared into empty space. She then looked at Reid. "Is this a joke or something?" 

Reid raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean? You c- can't see her?" Rain raised her head to look again. "No, I can't. I think you need to catch some serious sleep, Reid."

"No, I don't." The woman came closer. "Hello?" Reid called again. This time, the woman stopped a few feet away from him. She was ghostly white character, Reid noticed. Almost like a banshee. Her cloak was a raggedy old brown one. The woman's eyes were black pools of darkness, devoid of any light. She opened her mouth. A horrible noise came out, like a computer crashing. Horrified, Reid took a step back. The woman reached inside her cloak and took out a sword. It was black, but only because some sort of dark aura emitted from it. Rain looked at Reid's face, frozen with terror. "Hey? What's wrong?" 

The woman took another step towards Reid. He couldn't move his legs; they felt like stone blocks cemented into the floor. The woman took her sword and thrusted it forward, into Reid. "Ugh!!" Reid groaned as he fell to the ground. Pain burned through his chest. Pain? Was he supposed to be feeling… pain? "Whoa!" Rain kneeled next to Reid and shook him. "Are you alright? What's wrong!?" Through Reid's fuzzy vision, he saw the cloaked woman swing the blade again. "Agh!" Rain crumpled to ground next to him, her sword clattering loudly on the stone floor. She was breathing painful, labored breaths. Reid weakly reached out his hand towards her. Then everything went completely black.

*                                  *                                  *                                  *          

     …….SYSTEM ERROR………..SYSTEM ERROR…………..SYSTEM ERROR……..       

*                                  *                                  *                                  *          

An excerpt from the San Francisco Chronicle, dated 8-5-2010:

**Jackson, CA**. 

On Monday, Bryan Coleman, teenager, was hospitalized after being found slumped over his desk, unconscious in his Jackson home. His mother was the first to find him, and immediately called for an ambulance. Doctors have told the press that he is in a coma, but in stable condition. Police authorities have yet to tell the press anything about the cause. Interestingly, this was not the only case of coma-induced accidents on Monday. In Seattle, Washington, another teenager named Christy Slant was also found unconscious in her room. She is currently in a coma. These are only two of the many known accidents in the world that occurred on Monday. The FBI is currently investigating the cases.

–Jane Rembrant


	4. Part Two

**Part Two- Complete Enigmas **

"Wake up, Reid! Wake up!" Reid felt himself being shook. He slowly opened his eyes to see Rain kneeling over him. Reid sat upright. His head hurt badly. "What-….. what happened?" He lifted his head. Rain stared into his eyes. "I….don't know." Rain admitted. "All I remember was that we were in a dungeon, and you fell down suddenly. I tried to pick you up to your feet, but _something_ hit me in the back." Rain stood up and helped Reid to his feet. Reid looked around him. They were in a quiet back alley of the Root town. 

"How did we get here?" Reid asked her while picking up her sword and handing it to her. She shook her head slowly. 

"When I came to, we were here. I don't know. But…. That's…. not all of it." Rain looked at Reid, with fear in her eyes. 

"What's wrong?" Reid was shocked to see her like this. Rain walked over to him, and laid her hands on his shoulders. She looked at Reid's face slowly.

"Can you, remember… your real name?" She asked with a shaky voice. 

Reid stood silently, unsettled at what she had asked. He thought carefully. Then his eyes widened with surprise. "I- I can't remember…" He stuttered. Rain pulled his face close to hers. Reid could see the tears in her eyes. "_Neither can I_." She whispered miserably.

Chapter Four 

Forgotten Memories

            Reid gaped at Rain. "But….." He looked around in panic. This is a dream, it has to be! Reid thought furiously. He tried to move his arms and legs in real life. Nothing. There was absolutely no response. 

Wait! I can just log out of the game! He braced himself. Nothing happened. He twisted his head to look at Rain. "I can't log out!" He cried. 

Rain just lowered her head. "I know…" She murmured sadly. 

Reid shook his head violently. "No! This has to be a dream!" He shouted out to himself.

Rain shook him by the shoulders. "It's not a dream!" She wheezed, practically in tears. "This is _real_."  Reid pushed away. "We've got to tell somebody! Someone should be able to help us!" Reid told himself. He sighed heavily. He turned to Rain. "C'mon! We have to get help!" She nodded and picked up her sword. 

            They both walked out of the alley and looked around the town. It was completely empty. 

"Where is everyone?" Rain wondered, strength coming back into her voice. 

"I dunno." Reid responded, walking over to the railing that stood over the river. He leaned on the railing and stared down into his glassy reflection. This is real. He thought. And it feels like a nightmare. Reid's eyes searched the streets across the river. Nothing. Even the shops were empty. He tilted his head to the side. _Who was that woman? _Reid had almost completely forgotten about her. Rain hadn't been able to see her, but he had. What was the connection? Then, she stabbed him. No warning, nothing. Then she stabbed Rain too. Reid looked up into the sky. And here we are. He thought slowly. Stuck in a root town of nothingness. 

            "Hey!! Hey, kid! What the _hell_ do you think you're doin'?" Surprised, Reid turned around. A large man in a large suit of armor was screaming at Rain, who had started looting the item shop while Reid was thinking at the railing. The man pushed her away from the item shop. Rain toppled into Reid and knocked him over. The man, who looked rather angry, took a few steps towards them. "How did you get here?!" He yelled at them. "The servers are closed for repairs!" He slapped his hand to his forehead. "God, if you guys are hackers, I _will_ personally hand you over to the police!"

Rain stared at him blankly. Reid stood up quickly. "No, sir. We aren't hackers. Please let us explain."

The man folded his arms across his chest. "Well, I'm waiting." He said sternly.

                        *                                  *                                  *                                  *

            "I see. All of that is true?" Rain and Reid nodded their heads quickly. 

"Hmm.." The man muttered something under his breath that Reid couldn't hear. Then he relaxed his eyebrows. "I am Mr. Webster, an administrator for The World. In fact, I'm also the Lead Sales Manager for CyberConnect USA." The man stood silently for a second, thinking. "Okay. You wait here." He pointed at the rail. "I'll be back in few minutes. Just… wait here." Mr. Webster logged out with a thoughtful look on his face. 

            Rain looked at Reid. He looked worried. She leaned against the railing. 

"Are you okay?" Rain asked, playfully slugging him in the arm. Reid looked at her blankly, and then slowly smiled. "Yeah. I'm all right. I just… can't remember anything." Reid looked at his staff.

Rain nodded and leaned on his shoulder and commented. "It's strange. It's like…like… watching a movie where you know all about the plot, but absolutely nothing of the characters." 

Reid smiled sheepishly. "That's a unique metaphor."

Rain shrugged. "I'm trying my best." Reid grinned again. Rain picked up her sword and looked at it as though she was looking at it for the first time. "My sword… looks different." Reid examined the sword. "It _is_ different." He appraised. "It's stronger." 

Rain looked at her hands. "I _feel_ stronger." Reid knew what she meant. They had both somehow gone from lowly lv.1 newbies to lv.20 warriors. _And_ gotten better equipment. 

            "But how?" Rain wondered as she tossed her sword into the air and caught it. 

"Maybe it was a glitch. The same one that's screwing up everything right now." Reid guessed.  

"Maybe." Rain tossed the sword up again. Reid was fascinated by all the new magic that accompanied his upgraded equipment he had acquired without knowing. "La Repth. That's good to have." He muttered to himself, remembering Rain crazy tactics. "Hmph." Rain responded. "I wonder when that guy's coming back. If he's not back soon, I'm going to 'check out' the weapon shop." 

Reid rolled his eyes and looked again into the sky. It's all over now, at least. Reid thought. 

            Suddenly, three figures logged in right in front of the item shop. Mr. Webster was between the other two characters, who appeared to be extremely large Swordmasters in very heavy metal armor. They carried large, intimidating swords and helmets that covered their eyes. It gave them a cold and heartless look. Mr. Webster pointed Reid and Rain out to the two giants. "Kill them both." He ordered menacingly. 


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five 

An Understanding

            Both Rain and Reid stood dumbfounded. Did he say 'Kill them both?' He must have, because the two behemoths were practically charging at them with their swords drawn. Reid tried to dodge, but his knees refused to budge.

"Agh!!" Reid was charged into and flung backwards. Pain raged through his chest. 

Pain? This was a game, you aren't supposed to feel pain! Reid thought furiously. 

"Argh!" Rain was smashed into a wall, after being swung at by the swordmaster with the bronze helmet. She slid down and slumped over. Reid raised his eyebrows with intense concern. The giant swung at him again. Reid dodged it and smashed his opponent over the head with his rod. To his surprise, the man fell over with a large crash. "What the hell?" Mr. Webster stared at his hired help, sprawled on the ground. Reid stared at the man as well, surprised at his own strength. 

            Bam! A large ray of light appeared out of nowhere and struck the man who was flailing Rain with his sword. The man grunted and fell over. Mr. Webster, now completely shocked, took a step backward. A shadowy man walked out of the alley. A large black trench coat covered almost his entire body, except his hands and head. His hair was silver, like Reid's and was combed in a strange style. A small goatee and high, arching eyebrows that shadowed his dark eyes completed his mysterious look. His shoes tapped on the stone as he walked over to Reid, completely ignoring Mr. Webster. He stopped a few feet from Reid.

"Come with me. You aren't safe here." He ordered Reid quietly. Reid turned his head towards Rain, who was still lifelessly slumped over next to the wall. 

The man seemed to know what Reid was thinking. "Don't worry." He told Reid without turning to look at Rain. "She's fine. Follow me."

            The man turned around and started walking towards Rain. Mr. Webster jumped in his path. His face was completely red.  

"And who the hell do you think you are!?" Webster spat at the man. The man smiled. 

"That does not concern you, Webster." He replied coolly. Then the man stretched out his arm towards Webster. Webster's eyes widened. The man quickly pulled his arm to the right. "Nooo!" Webster howled as an invisible force gripped him and flung him into the air, landing in the water canal with a large splash. His obstacle out of the way, the man continued over towards Rain. Reid closely followed him. He picked up Rain and turned around. 

"These guys are only stunned. They'll come back in a few minutes. We must hurry." With that said, he turned around again, with Rain draped over his shoulder, and strode down an empty alleyway. Reid ran after him, Webster shouting obscenities from the canal.

                        *                                  *                                  *                                  *

            The man turned to Reid. "Okay. We're safe here." Reid looked around. They were in an old building that was somewhere in the back alley of the city. The room was well lit and had a table and chairs, and some large boxes that Reid assumed were for item storage in the corner. Curiously, there was a small bed against the far wall. The man laid Rain softly on the bed, and then examined her. "She's been knocked out. Nothing serious." Reid swallowed hard.

"Knocked out? What do you mean? This is a game! How can we feel pain?" He asked frantically. 

The man tilted his head over to Reid and gave him a small grin. "Not so many questions."

Reid slowly sank into a chair. He asked again. "What's happened to us?"

The man first extended his hand. "Not much for formalities, are you?" He queried sheepishly. 

"The name's Cid." Reid shook Cid's hand weakly. The man smiled again. 

"And I already know who you are. Well, in the game anyway. Reid, isn't it?" Reid nodded. 

"Well, Reid. I am what some people call a 'hacker.' I fiddle around with the code in The World. I know how it works quite well because I used to be a lead programmer for The World. Well, for the English translation project, anyway." Cid pointed at himself. "As you can see, I have also fiddled around with character customization at bit too." He added slyly. Reid nodded again, unsure of what Cid's point was.

"I was fired from Cyberconnect USA after I argued that The World had some flaws from the very beginning. Dangerous flaws." Cid went on. 

"I wasn't the only one fired for arguing, either. Another man, the lead AI programmer, by the name of Jim Perry was fired. Now, Jim Perry wasn't exactly a man who would give in easily. He had documents including information informing that the CC Corp. had known about the deadly problems, but hadn't halted the game servers or claimed responsibility for the 'accidents.' He told the press about the flaws in the game, and they ran a story about it in the paper. Afraid that the man had more revealing evidence that could topple the company, Cyberconnect sent men to silence Jim Perry and destroy whatever evidence he had. When they arrived at his apartment to find that neither he nor the evidence was there, they killed his fiancé. She was inside at the time and got caught in the crossfire. The wrong place at the wrong time…" Cid leaned back in his chair. 

Reid concurred. "Crossfire? What are they, the mafia?" 

Cid scratched the back of his head. "Well, not exactly. You see, Perry wasn't exactly… - well, let's just say he had some problems. Specifically, some gambling and money problems.

He owed a large sum of money to a particular man who invested completely in Cyberconnect, and had become a big name in the company." 

Cid paused for a second, a grimace on his face. "This man was behind the whole thing. _He_ had thugs come to the house for the 'sake' of the CC Corp's financial matters. So technically, the company didn't have anything to do with the killing, -the company's hands were clean. Later, the man began working in the company as an executive." 

Cid sighed. "I guess… it _was_ kind of like the mafia."

Reid placed his rod gently against the table. Cid kept on talking.

"Jim wasn't easy to forgive. He fled the city and worked for almost a year to create a perfect virus in a unstoppable rage. A virus that would take down the entire Cyberconnect Corporation. He created it with a very advanced AI system, so the virus would appear to be a regular person playing the game. It was to target all of the company administration who had known about the murder, but had done nothing about it. After months of testing, he thought it was ready and set it loose in The World." Cid swallowed hard. "Then….. everything went wrong. It didn't attack what it was supposed to attack, but rather, it attacked anyone it could reach." 

Reid widened his eyes. "So… that woman that we were attacked by in the dungeon… was the virus?"

Cid nodded solemnly. "The data that was used to create the virus was apparently corrupt. The virus went berserk. It can change its appearance into whatever it wants to look like, and its attack has a grave side-effect." Cid told him. 

Reid sat up in his seat. "What? What happened to us?"

Cid shifted his eyes to the ceiling. "You're in a coma."

Reid collapsed in his chair. "A- a coma?"

Cid shifted his gaze back to Reid. "Yes, a coma. But that's the strange thing. You two are still in the game. I don't know how this is possible, but as you can clearly see, it has happened."

"And this pain… is it real?" Reid asked.

Cid stroked his goatee. "It is real pain, yes." Cid replied. But it does you no bodily harm. Waves are transmitted to your brain to simulate real pain. 

"Then… what happens if we die in The World?" Reid asked, almost knowing what the answer would be. Cid answered slowly, stroking his goatee again.

"If you die in the game, …you won't come back. The link- the connection, between your brain and the game would be severed. You will remain in the coma until you die." Cid glanced at the petrified Reid. 

"I don't mean to scare you, Reid. But you're in a lot of danger. Webster and the rest of the administration will do all they can to kill you."

"But why!?" Reid stammered. 

Cid straightened his collar. "Reid, you must understand something. The World has over 20 million users playing the game every day. If the whole world suddenly knew that a mega-virus with the power to kill you was loose in the game, people would obviously stop playing. The World rakes in billions of dollars every month and they would be ruined. Reid, these people _will_ kill you. And when they do, nobody will know about it. Nobody could possibly see the connection between a PK in a game and a person who died in a coma. But we can't let that happen. You, Reid for some reason, can still see the virus when it doesn't want to be seen."

            "Yeah." Reid remembered when he had seen the virus, but Rain couldn't. 

Cid raised one of his eyebrows. "Now, did you have a registered copy of The World?"

"Umm… no. I burned mine." Reid admitted, shifting his weight in the chair. 

Cid smirked. "I thought so. Apparently, your burned version of The World has some corrupt data. That data interfered with the Virus, and you were able to see through its disguise. Even I cannot do that." Cid stood up, walked towards the window and looked outside. 

Reid stared at his staff for a moment. "What about our upgrades? How did that happen?" He asked Cid. Cid responded without turning around.

"I don't know. I didn't give them to you. The only way I can assume you got it from the Virus."

Reid was dumbfounded. "By the virus? Why would it do something like that?"

Cid leaned outside the window a little. "I truly cannot tell you, Reid. As I said, the virus is unstable. It's berserk. I don't know what it wants to do." 

Reid sat silently in the chair. Cid changed the subject, still looking out into the streets.

"I have been hunting for the virus for about two weeks now. I need to destroy it before it does anymore harm."

Reid stood up and walked to the window beside Cid. "How? How can you destroy it?"

Cid leaned against the windowsill, facing Reid. "I have made a program that will delete the virus by stripping apart its code. I have modified so you can use it like a skill in The World. It's called:

HOLYMATERIA.exe. You mustn't use it against anything but the virus. The program will completely destroy whatever it is targeted at."

            Reid thought for a second. "Holymateria.exe? Why'd you name it that?"

Cid laughed for the first time. "It was probably before your time, I'm guessing. It's a reference from an _old_ RPG, "Final Fantasy 7."

"Wait!" Reid interrupted. "I remember Final Fantasy. It was a RPG for the PS2, right?"

"It was a series of fourteen games." Cid corrected. "It started on the old NES and continued to the PS2. Then, after the FFXIV in 2005, Pluto's Kiss had overcome the net. Enix-Square, the company that made the games, was devastated by the fiasco and went bankrupt."

"Oh." Reid was silent.

"Anyway," Cid continued. "Holy materia is a reference to FFVII. In that particular one, there was a… magic orb of sorts, I suppose, that would _purge_ the entire planet of evil. In the end, it does just that, destroying modern civilization."

"Umm.." Reid wasn't sure if he understood.

"Don't worry, you don't need to know any of that stuff, anyway." Cid smiled warmly at Reid. Then he leaned closer to him.

"But… Reid, will you help me destroy this virus before it hurts anyone else?" Cid's eyes shone pleadingly. 

"W- will you help me and Rain?" Reid questioned uneasily.

"Of course." Cid nodded. "I will do I can to help you, if you help me."  

"Then I'll help you." Reid answered.

Cid laughed again and shook Reid's hand wildly. "Excellent!"

The bed squeaked. Both of them turned to the other side of the room.

            Rain painfully rose from the bed. "My head…" She whined as she rubbed the back of her head. She shook her head, opened her eyes and gazed at both Cid and Reid. 

"…What did I miss?" 


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six 

Lurking Tribulation 

After explaining most of what had happened to an absent-minded Rain, Cid wandered over to the crates in the corner of the room and gently pulled out a book. He walked quickly back to Reid and handed him the book. 

"This is it." Cid told him. "This is the HOLYMATERIA.exe. Use it on yourself and the program should be added your skill list." 

Reid accepted the book and looked at the torn and faded cover. An old picture of a girl praying in front of a strange altar was almost peeling off. 

"Thanks." Reid replied. He opened the book carefully, and suddenly a blinding beam of light shot out of it, illuminating the whole room with a holy light.

"Ack!" Rain jumped backwards. Cid stood where he was, barely flickering an eyelid. 

The magnificent light enveloped Reid and it seemed that a strong breeze blew upward, nearly resulting in his hat flying off. Then as quickly as the light had appeared, it disappeared, along with the book, which slowly faded away. Reid opened his eyes. He hadn't realized that he had kept them closed the entire time. He looked at his hands. Everything looked and felt the same as before. But as he looked at his weapon, a small white orb hovered above the staff, emitting a grayish hue. 

            "That's the holy materia." Cid pointed to the orb. Rain examined it closely.

"Pretty." She commented. 

"Pretty damn dangerous, you mean." Cid glared at Rain. "This is not something to play with. It is quite unstable, itself. Use it on the virus, and nothing else."

Rain didn't know what to say, except "Oh."

Cid stood up from his chair. "Well, as long as you have that materia, you should be safe from the virus. We'll start searching The World at once. I have to go and check out some things. You two are free to go search the dungeons." Cid paused momentarily. "But please, be careful. Webster and his goons are still looking for you."

Rain picked up her sword wiped some dust off with the back of her hand. "Hey, why did Webster need the two guys, anyway? Couldn't he of just fought us by himself? He _is_ an admin." 

To this, Cid smiled glanced up at the ceiling. "He would of, if he didn't suck at fighting. Anyway, I doubt he would want to get his hands dirty." 

"Hmm." Rain yawned heavily. Cid frowned at her, then looked towards Reid.

"Anyway, like I said, I'm going to be gone for a while. If anything happens, come here. You'll be safe." Cid peeked outside the window. "Well, it appears that the servers are open again. I want you to stay in Delta, though. I can't have you guys wandering everywhere. It's much too dangerous."

Reid and Rain both nodded.

"Well, goodbye." Cid gave a little wave while he logged out.

                        *                                  *                                  *                                  *

            Outside in the streets, activity had picked up again. Mac Anu was a busy place. Reid and Rain wandered around the streets carefully. People chatted pleasantly throughout the streets. The sun was sinking from the sky, turning the horizon into a vibrant gold color. A female long arm running down the stairs shoved Rain into the wall. 

"Out of my way, loser!" She muttered as she ran past.

A twin-blade chased her. "Wait, Cima! I want to trade! I've got a bunch of Yellow Candy! Please wait!" He yelled as he pursued her. 

Reid helped Rain up from the ground.

"Where's Orca when you need him?" Rain pouted, dusting herself off.

Reid just shrugged. Rain sighed and looked in the direction of the Chaos Gate.

"Anyway, let's go check out a dungeon. We have to look for that thing, right?" Rain lightly punched Reid in the shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess." Reid answered.

They walked to the Chaos gate, bumping into the large groups of people pouring into the town.

"Geez, why's everyone in such a big hurry?" Rain complained as she got shoved again.

At last, they reached it. Reid stepped closer to the spinning portal.

"Passive Ancient Holy Ground? It's Battle level is twenty-four." Reid questioned Rain as he randomized a field name.

"Sure, whatever. We'll have to look everywhere, so why not?" Rain slung her sword over her shoulder.

"Okay, if you say so." Reid confirmed. They both disappeared into the air.

*                                    *                                  *                                  *

            They landed on the roof of an old abandoned house buried in the snow. Snow blew around them. In the distance, a large cathedral-esque building loomed over the landscape. Bare, dead trees and the half-buried cots sparsely scattered over the frozen landscape gave Reid the impression that it must have been snowing for ages in this field.

"Whew… It's pretty cold here." Rain shivered.

"Yeah." Reid agreed, watching his frozen breath waft into the sky. 

"Well, let's go." Rain started for the large cathedral. Reid walked beside her, gripping his staff tightly. They continued marching until a large magic portal materialized in front of them. 

"Whoa. Stay back." Rain warned.

"If you insist." Reid took a step backward. A large monster appeared from the sparkling dust. 

Reid identified it as a Silver Wyrm. It looked like a western dragon with large, swooping wings.

"Be careful, Rain!" He cried out. "That thing's got HP through the roof!" 

Rain nodded and charged at the monster with her sword drawn. She slashed at it with her sword and it snapped angrily at her. With its tail, the Wyrm smashed Rain into the air. 

"Uff!" She landed a couple feet next to Reid, her sword nearly skewering Reid. The Wyrm started approaching them. 

"Ugh." She groaned. 

"_La Repth_!" Reid quickly healed her. She hopped back onto her feet. 

"Thanks." She grabbed her sword and attacked it again. 

Reid readied himself for a spell. "_BiVak Rom_!" A darkened tornado engulfed in flames surrounded the Wyrm. It released a deafening roar and bared its long teeth. Rain leaped into the blaze and prepared to strike.

"_Calamity_!" Rain shouted as she began slicing into the monster at an intense speed. This seemed to anger it, and the Wyrm smashed one of its claws into Rain's side. She cried out in pain and stumbled. The Wyrm snarled and swung with the other claw. 

"Argh!" Rain cried out as she was struck again and again.

"_La Repth_!" Reid quickly ran closer to the battle and cured her again. With the snowstorm getting worse, it was becoming hard to see. Reid shielded his eyes with his arm. 

Wham! The Wyrm's tail crashed into his chest. Reid flew a few feet backward and landed on his back. Again, pain clouded his senses. 

"_Repth_." He coughed. The pain faded immediately. Reid climbed back onto his feet and saw Rain strike another blow to the Wyrm's head. 

"_GaiRai Kruz_!" Reid attacked with another spell. A bright bolt of lightning struck the monster from overhead. The monster roared ferociously and glared at Reid with one of it's horrible, glassy black eyes. Reid tried to take a couple steps towards it, but his feet wouldn't move. With little warning, a giant swarm of floating ice shards flew into Reid and slashed at his body. Hot pain flashed inside him, making him gasp for air. Rain slashed again at the beast. The ice continued to attack him, and every gash felt as though the jagged shard was passing through his body. 

At last, the attacks stopped and the deadly ice wisped away. From the sheer, mind-numbing pain, Reid collapsed face-first into the snow below him, his staff rolling a few feet away from his outstretched hand. It's over, he thought sadly. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to stop.

            Out of the corner of her eye, Rain saw Reid collapse into the snow. The Wyrm swung its razor-sharp claw at her again. 

"Damn!" Rain blocked with her sword. The Wyrm didn't seem weakened in the least. She gritted her teeth. "_Gan Drive_!!" She shouted as she swung her blade powerfully into the dragon. As it made contact, the Wyrm was knocked into the air and landed a few feet away on it's back. Rain

charged at it. Unexpectedly, the fiend snapped up its tail and hit Rain in the side of the head, toppling her over sideways. 

"Ow!" Gasped Rain as she fell on her back, hitting her head on the ice. As quick as a flash, the beast was up and standing over Rain. It placed its front claw over Rain's chest, pinning her down. She tried to reach her sword, but in the fall, it had slid down the frozen hill. Terrified, Rain looked up at the Wyrm. One of its giant black eyes was gazing hungrily at her. Its claw pushed down harder, making it more difficult to breathe. Gasping for breath, Rain closed her eyes and waited for her end to come.


	7. Part Three

**Part Three- Alliance **

Rain closed her eyes tightly and silently waited for the pain that would end her life. A quick death with no unnecessary torment was all she wanted at the moment. She shuddered at the thought. Then all of a sudden, the weight was lifted off of her chest. Surprised, she opened her eyes and watched the gray, lifeless sky. _Am I…. dead_? Rain wondered. 

"_Vak Slash_!" A voice cut through the dead silence. Rain quickly sat up and searched for the Wyrm. A flash of movement made her spin her head around. A guy was attacking it fiercely with his sword. He was thinner and less brawny than the average burly Sword Master, and seemed more quick and agile than anything else. He wore an interesting garment, one that reminded Rain more of modern-day street clothes than the traditional medieval garb. Nevertheless, the clothes did have a unique RPG theme to them. His blue hair, which was all spiky and pointy in traditional 'anime'-style, gleamed vibrantly in the rays of sunlight that filtered through the stormy clouds. 

Rain watched as he sliced into the monster.

"_Cross Slash_!" He yelled out, almost lazily. A quick slash with his sword ended the Wyrm's life. It crumpled to the ground and faded away. The sword master turned around, saw Rain and walked up to her, flashing a wide grin.

"I got a level up, baby!" He struck a pose with his sword. Rain stared at him in a confused awe.

Chapter Seven 

An Acquaintance for Some

            The snow had stopped and the clouds parted, revealing the sunlight.

Rain snapped her head away from the mystery man and dashed towards Reid, who was lying on the snow. She bent over him and shook him violently. He didn't stir. 

"Hey, aren't you even going to thank me?" The sword master walked up behind her, a puzzled expression on his face. Rain stood up and turned to him. 

"Listen, this guy needs help. Do you know any healing spells?" Rain asked breathlessly.

The sword master raised his eyebrows and bounced up and down on his toes a few times. 

"_I dunno_." He grinned in mock troubled voice. "Perhaps if you said, 'thank you.' And maybe…. a little hug?"

"What!?" Rain gritted her teeth. "Can't you just help me?"

"Well! If you're going to be like _that._" He retorted in an annoying singsong voice. "I'll just go."

He turned around. Rain slapped her forehead in frustration. 

"Fine! Thank you." She muttered under her breath. He turned around with a smile on his face. "Aww…. You're welcome." 

"Good. Now come here and heal him." Rain glanced over to Reid.

"Wait, wait. And the hug?" He pouted with his hands at his hips.

Rain gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath. The sword master skipped over to her.

"See how easy that was?" He put his arm over Rain shoulder and talked in a mock-heroic voice to the cloudy sky.

"_And so, the brave knight saved the damsel in distress, and_-" Rain shoved him away.

"That's enough, you creep." She glared at him. He took a step back and shrugged. 

"Suit yourself." He looked through his pocket and took out a small bottle. 

"There you go! One Healing Potion!" He tossed it to her. 

She snatched it from the air and dashed back over to Reid. As she used it on him, the bottle flashed brightly, and faded away. He revived instantly and opened his eyes, squinting in the sunlight. Rain helped him to his feet. 

"Ouch." Reid rubbed his head. "What happened? And who's that guy?" Reid noticed the Sword Master standing behind Rain. The Sword Master came up to Reid and held out his hand.

"Vince, at your service!" He introduced himself cheerfully. "I helped your lovely friend here kill that monster." Rain gritted her teeth again and felt like strangling him. Reid shook his hand, still a bit unsure about what had happened.

"Umm… I'm Reid, and that's Rain." Reid informed Vince. Vince smiled and shook his head.

"I knew what your names were." Vince grinned. Reid was confused.

"Umm, how?" Reid asked. "I've never seen you before."

"Oh, it doesn't matter!" Vince laughed. "But I _do_ suppose you'd like the whereabouts of that _virus_, would you not?" Reid and Rain both froze. Vince continued grinning.

            Rain stepped next to Reid and stared at Vince in the eyes. 

"How could you even know about that?" Rain questioned. Vince let out a fake sigh.

"Well, these kind of things just get out, you know?" Vince looked up into the sky, his hands in his pockets. Reid shook his head. 

"No, I don't." He answered. 

"Bah." Vince shook his hand. "It doesn't matter anyway. The place you want to go to is: _Delta Great Forbidden Sky Palace_. That's the place." Rain narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"How can we trust you?"

Vince shrugged and smiled. "It's up to you. See ya later!" He winked at Rain and logged out.

They both paused for a second. Reid glanced over to Rain. 

"I _hate_ him." She muttered.

                        *                                  *                                  *                                  *

            Back in Cid's place at Mac Anu, Cid nodded at them. "I see. So a person named Vince knows about the virus, hmm? I'm not terribly surprised. We're not the only ones that know about it." Rain tilted her head sideways. 

"We're… not?" She asked, uncertain. Cid shook his head at her.

"No, CC Corp knows about this virus as well. How much they know, I haven't a clue."

"And the field that he told us about, does it really exist?" Rain questioned.

Cid sat down in deep thought. After a few seconds, he looked back up to Rain.

"That keyword. 'Sky Palace' isn't a keyword."

Rain slammed her hand down onto the table. "I knew it! That jerk!"

Cid held up both hands. "Hey, hey. Wait a minute. I never said the field didn't exist."

Rain looked at Cid carefully. "What?" Cid nodded.

"The place does exist. It was a corrupted field that we excluded from the game when I was still working for CC Corp."

"Or did you really exclude it?" Reid wondered. Cid shrugged. 

"Well, even if it is there, we can't get to it. 'Sky Palace' isn't a valid keyword anymore."

"I thought you said you were a hacker." Reid asked, baffled. "Can't you just hack through it?"

            Cid shook his head. "That would take time. Way too much time, in fact."

Cid looked outside his window and stroked his goatee. "There's an easier way. I know someone who can get us through."

"What? Who?" Rain demanded.

Cid turned to them. "_Helba._" 


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight 

Silent Reminiscing 

            Reid sat in his chair. Cid had gone out to contact a person named _Helba_, whom he had insisted would help get to the field. Rain was on the other side of the room, trying to flip her sword in the air and catch it. Given her lousy hand-eye coordination, this meant that she would ask Reid for healing from time to time. Reid sighed and laid his head on the table. He hadn't tried to think about who he really was since this had happened. Truthfully, he had completely forgotten to even try. It disturbed him that he could forget such a thing. Who was he in real life? Or was it a she? Reid shook his head. No, he was pretty sure he was a guy. At least, he hoped he was.

            Reid sighed again. How much time had passed since he had entered the game? It had seemed like an eternity. There must have been a clue to his identity somewhere. Let's see…. Reid backtracked and remembered entering the game. He had introduced himself to Rain and Orca. Then- Reid jolted up from his seat.

"That's it!" He told himself. When he had introduced himself, he had almost said his real name. What had he said, though? Reid sank back into his seat in deep thought. He couldn't remember anything. Reid flipped his head on the table to look at Rain, who successfully caught the sword in mid-air and struck a pose. _How does she do it?_ Reid thought. Rain hadn't seemed disturbed by this at all, except in the beginning. She was still acting the carefree way she always was.

            "How do you do it, Rain? Doesn't it bother you that you can't remember anything?" Reid felt himself ask. Rain continued to flip her sword in the air.

"Yes. Of course it does." She replied. "Just because I don't show it, doesn't mean I don't care."

"But, how can you do that? I can't _not_ show it. I'm scared to death." Reid admitted.

Rain stopped her sword flipping and walked over Reid, placing her arm on his shoulder. 

"I'm scared too, Reid." She answered slowly. "But I try to put it behind me, to forget about it. Don't let your fears poison your mind. You're the only one I can really trust."

With that said, Rain walked over to the over side of the room and laid down on the bed. 

She's right. Reid thought. I shouldn't be worrying like this. It'll drive me crazy. He glanced over at Rain again. She was still lying on the mattress. 

"Can you sleep?" Reid asked curiously. Rain rolled over in the bed.

"No. I'm not even tired. I don't think you can sleep in the game, anyway." Rain answered.

"Oh." Reid sat up and grabbed his staff. "I'm going to go check out something."

Rain waved from the bed. "Be careful. And quick. Cid's not gonna like you wandering off."

Reid nodded and walked out the door. 

                        *                                  *                                  *                                  *

            Reid walked down the cobblestone streets of Mac Anu. He watched all the boats float by in the pleasant canal. It was a pretty city, Reid had to admit. Players walked all around him, engrossed in whatever their agenda was for the day. Reid sat down on the stone stairs and watched all the group of warriors run around. It was interesting, Reid thought, that all these people played the game. Did they play to escape the troubles of life? Well, he had escaped from life, permanently. Reid heard somebody sigh heavily. On the steps next to him sat another Wave Master. He had blue wave master robes on, and sky blue hair. He hid his face in his hands. Reid raised his eyebrows. 

"Is something wrong?" He asked him. "What's your name?"

The Wave master lifted his face from his hands and looked at Reid. His face was one of the most troubled Reid had seen. He seemed surprised that someone would even think about talking to him.

"I'm Elk." He answered in a morbid tone. Reid held out his hand, but Elk had put his face in his hands again.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked curiously. Elk took his hands away from his face and stared at Reid with his large, sad eyes; then looked at the sunset. Then he spoke.

"Have you… ever liked someone? I mean, really liked someone, but too afraid to tell her?" Elk asked, still looking into the sunset. Reid paused for a moment.

"Yes…" He replied slowly. Elk turned to look at Reid.

"What should I do?" Elk asked with a desperate look in his eyes. "I'm too afraid to tell her."

Reid paused again. "You shouldn't hide your feelings." Reid admitted. 

"I think if you truly have feelings for her, you have to tell her. If she laughs at you, then she's not good enough for you. There are many more fish in the sea, Elk. Don't spend all your time loving someone who isn't going to return it." Reid finished his speech.

            Elk looked into the sunset again. "You're right." He told Reid.

Elk stood up. It was dark, and most of the people in the city had logged out. He took a few steps down the stairs, and then looked back. 

"I… never got your name." Elk looked embarrassed.

"It's Reid." Reid told him. Elk smiled for the first time.

"Thanks Reid. You give good advice." Elk logged out, leaving Reid alone on the dark steps of Mac Anu. Reid stood up and walked down the stairs. _Good advice_. That's what Elk had told him. Reid smiled as he walked his way down to Cid's place.


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine 

Trepidation

            Vince looked over the city of Mac Anu from his rooftop perch. The sun sank into the distance, and a bright crescent moon bathed the city in an eerie glow. 

He sighed and examined his fingernails. Webster was late. A sudden click of armor on a stone floor alerted Vince. He peeked over the side of the roof to see Webster standing in the moonlight, and looking around. 

"You're behind schedule!" Vince yelled from the roof. Webster looked up and put a finger to his lips. 

"Oh, whatever." 

Vince rolled his eyes and jumped down onto the stone balcony. Webster gave him a piercing stare. 

"Well, did you do it?" Webster asked sternly. Vince wandered gingerly over to Webster and patted his back enthusiastically.

"Worry not, Admin-man. The dirty deed is done." Vince winked at him. Webster didn't look relieved in the slightest. 

"I'm not sure if it is. How can we trust you?" Webster glared at him. Vince sighed and walked over to the balcony railing. He leaned on it with both hands, staring into the empty city.

"Why does no one trust me? It's awfully depressing, you know." He turned around and looked at Webster. "It's like _stabbing_ my self-esteem." Vince gestured with his sword, pretending to gouge himself. Webster still stood in the same place, his eyes fixated on Vince. He squinted at him.

"Nobody trusts you because you're not honorable _and_ you're a liar." Webster spat. Vince laughed out loud.

"And this is coming from a man who wants two people eliminated from The World, and from real life. Honorable? Ha! Don't make me laugh, Webster." Vince grinned at him. 

"I could delete your PC at anytime." Webster threatened. Vince's eyes widened in mock fear. 

"Oh no! Have mercy, Mr. Admin!" Vince stuck out his tongue at Webster. "But you won't. You know I've got lots of _friends_, Webster. Talented ones. They could really make a mess of _you_."

            Webster's face turned red, visible even in the poor light. 

"Fine. You win." He grunted. "And the virus? You know where it is?"

Vince nodded. "Yep! _Delta Great Forbidden Sky Palace._" Webster's face twisted with anger.

"That keyword doesn't exist anymore, you fool!" Webster retorted angrily. Vince grinned again.

"Oh, does it now?" Vince turned around and stretched his arms upward. 

"That keyword will be valid as of 12:30 tomorrow, Pacific Coast time." Vince turned around and shook his finger at Webster. 

"Parenthetically, that's not a very nice way to talk to a person who's doing you a favor, you know." Webster glared at him again. Then he nodded. 

"Pacific Coast time, huh? That's in seven hours. Will you be accompanying us? There was an item or something you wanted from it, right?" Webster looked at an old grandfather clock inside a nearby window. Vince nodded happily.

"Don't worry, you'll find me. I'll be lurking around." Vince informed him cheerily. Webster turned to Vince again. 

"Well, destroying the virus is our first priority. If you're lying about those two PCs, I can always get some schmuck to do it for me." Webster nodded to himself. 

"Yeah, maybe I'll get a promotion out of this." He looked enthralled at the thought.

"Uh-huh." Vince agreed, clearly disinterested in whatever Webster was rambling about.

"Well, I'm going. I need to get some sleep." Webster told Vince. Before he left however, he suddenly felt compelled to ask Vince something. 

"Where do you live, anyway? You're almost online 24-7. Don't you ever sleep? Don't you have a life?" Vince shrugged and grinned.

"_Life_? What is this _life_ you speak of? Do other people have them? I want one!" He pouted.

            Webster rolled his eyes. "I knew better not to ask." He muttered to himself as he logged out. Vince laughed again and jumped back onto the rooftop. He scanned the dark city with his sharp eyes and then sat down on the shingles.

"Well, this is just peachy." He giggled. "It boggles the mind to imagine what could become of all this." With this said, he nodded to himself and logged out. 

                        *                                  *                                  *                                  *          

            Daniel Wells sat up from his seat and stretched his arms. Then he took a few steps to his giant window overlooking a giant courtyard and ran a hand through his short black hair. 

His skin was pale, and his clothes looked rather expensive, save the fact they were completely wrinkled. His narrow eyes conveyed a gentle, yet strange feel about them. The room he had his computer in seemed to also serve as a library. Large bookcases reaching the top of the vaulted ceilings were filled to the brim with books on philosophy, medical science and law. These books however, were covered with a layer of dust, and the only corner of the room that had seemed to be used very often was the computer.

            There was a knock on the hardwood door. Daniel turned around.

"Come in." He called. The door squeaked open. An old man in a suit came in with a stack of letters in his arms. 

"The mail's arrived, Master Wells." The old man stacked the papers on the table. Daniel sighed and walked over to the feeble butler.

"Aldan, I must insist that you stop calling me 'Master Wells.' Call me Daniel. Or even Dan, if you wish." Daniel told him.

Aldan smiled. "As you wish." Daniel searched through mail. He tossed the majority of it in the small wire trashcan next to the table one by one.

"Junk… Junk… Bill... Junk." Daniel sighed and looked at Aldan. 

"You would think that these colleges would stop sending me all this junk, Alden. I'm tired of all this." Daniel dumped all the letters in the garbage, save the bills. Alden raised his eyebrows.

"Well, you _are_ technically a genius, Master Daniel. What were your IQ results again? 155?"

"That's 165." Daniel corrected. "But still, I've dropped out of _Harvard_, for God's sake. What makes these schools think I'd want to go to _their_ campus? I'm sick of it."

            "Well, your parent's wish was for you to become a doctor. Or a lawyer, perhaps. They worked all their lives to make a fortune so you could never have to worry about money." Aldan informed Daniel. Daniel frowned at him.

"And look where it got them. Dead in a plane crash, ... never enjoying life. Only… _this_." Daniel pointed at the piles of papers that covered the table. Aldan glanced at the computer, which was still online.

"And you enjoy life, Master Daniel? You're nineteen years old…. but, you rarely leave this room. Is that enjoying life?" He queried.

"Do I enjoy life? Yes. Yes, I do." Daniel retorted. "More than they did." 

Aldan sighed heavily and made his way out of the room.

"Well, I must insist that you get some sleep, Master Daniel. You're been playing that game non-stop." Aldan informed Daniel as he closed the door. 

"Don't worry, Aldan. I'm fine." Daniel replied as the door snapped shut. Daniel paused for a moment, and then walked over to the table. He shoved papers off the top, creating a waterfall of bills to the floor. At last, he found what was he was looking for. In his hands, he stared at an old photo of a man and woman standing together on a sunny beach. Between them stood a little skinny boy, hugging their legs and smiling gleefully. For ten minutes, he stared at it. Then, with anger clouding his mind, Daniel tore the picture up, and the little pieces of torn paper slowly floated to his feet. 


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten 

Guidance

            "Well, it's done. I've contacted Helba." Cid walked inside the room. Rain waved hello from the bed while Reid looked at Cid from his seat and tilted his head sideways.

"Sorry, but who _is_ Helba? You kinda left without telling us. He's some sort of hacker, right?"

"Oh." Cid sat down in his seat. "I'm sorry about that. I was in a hurry to catch her." Reid nodded understandingly. 

"Oh, so Helba's a girl?" Rain asked, covering the pillow over her head. Cid shrugged.

"Well, the PC she uses is female. I don't really know much about her. I met her about a year ago in the game." Cid shifted in his seat. "And yes, Helba's a hacker. The best I've ever seen, in fact."

            Rain yawned and sat up on the bed. She rubbed her eyes.

"And she would be willing to help us… Why?" Rain glanced at Cid curiously. Cid rubbed the back of his head nervously. 

"I don't know, to tell you the truth. I met her a while ago. I don't suppose you know anything about the whole Tsukasa incident a while back, do you?" Cid asked inquisitively. Reid shook his head and yawned.

"No. What was it?" He asked, leaning his staff against the tableside. 

Cid put his feet up on the table and leaned back on his chair.

"You know, I'd rather _not_ talk about that right now." Cid admitted, rubbing his chin. Reid glanced over to Rain, who shrugged.

"Anyway, the gate to the field will be opened in about seven hours." Cid informed them.

"And then Reid'll blast it with that Holy what-sit, right?" Rain asked. Cid nodded and gazed at Reid. 

"If the virus chooses to be invisible or whatever, Reid will be the only one able to see it." Cid told her.

Rain glanced at the white orb hovering over Reid's staff. 

"And the attack will kill it, and we'll be able to log out, right?" Rain asked hopefully. Cid nodded at Rain. 

"If all goes well, yes." He informed her. Rain rolled her eyes and plopped back onto the bed.

"If all goes well, huh? That's very reassuring." Rain said sarcastically, putting the pillow back over her head. Cid sighed and rubbed his eyes. He looked exhausted. 

"What's your job in real life, Cid?" Reid asked, curious. Cid glanced at Reid for a second, and then closed his eyes.

"Programmer. I was fired from CC Corp, remember?" Cid yawned.

"Must be tiring." Reid commented.

"You have no idea." Cid smiled.

            There was a small silence. Reid looked outside the window. It still dark, but the city lights were still lit. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cid gently dozing. Rain got up from her bed, grabbing her sword from the floor.

"This is really boring. I'm going out for a while." Rain complained. Reid looked at Cid, still dozing. Reid tilted his head towards Cid.

"What about Cid?" Reid asked. Rain pouted and put her hands on her hips.

"He won't care, as long as we don't kill ourselves. We're just going for a stroll." She argued irritably. Reid took a worried glance at Cid, then stood up and picked up his staff.

"Okay." He agreed.

*                                    *                                  *                                  *

            Cid awoke with a jolt. He looked around the room in surprise. Rain and Reid were nowhere to be seen. Cid sighed softly and leaned his head back into his chair, facing the ceiling.

He had fallen asleep in front of his computer again. Cid rubbed his chin in deep thought.

_Jenova. _That's what he had named the virus. Cid smiled at the Final Fantasy reference. _Jenova and Holy Materia._ Jenova was the evil intruder, and the Holy Materia had purged the earth of all evil in the game. But it had come at a price; all of human civilization was destroyed. Cid pondered silently in his chair. _By destroying Jenova here, would we suffer from a similar fate? _Would the virus' destruction only be the beginning? The heroes of the game had made the ultimate sacrifice… would we also?             

Cid glanced out the window. It was still dark outside, and yet, the gentle light provided from the moon illuminated the city. Why do I play the game? Cid wondered to himself. That was a question he was asked once. Why? He wasn't sure, to tell the truth. Was it really to escape your daily problems and have fun, or to escape your life? Cid sighed. He didn't know. He had a lot of problems to escape from, that was for sure. 

_Like Ginger…_ Cid shook his head. No, he couldn't. He had to get over her. She was gone, gone forever. Then, angry thoughts stormed through his mind. _It wasn't her fault! It was **me!** I was an ignorant fool!_ Cid rocked back and forth in his chair. _Damn him! Damn it all! _Cid raged silently. _He would pay, _Cid promised._ I'll make sure of it._ Slowly, Cid began to doze off again. "Ginger…" He wheezed softly as he lulled back into sleep.

                        *                                  *                                  *                                  *

The moon's light enveloped the city in a glorious aura. Sparkling stars scattered over the black sky reminded Reid of a cloak embedded with jewels. A few groups of people still sat around fire pits, laughing and talking to each other. Rain and Reid walked across a bridge and sat down on a stone bench that faced the moon and stars. Reid laid the staff over his lap and leaned back into the bench, relaxing. Rain stared at the moon with awe. 

"It's…. hard to believe that the moon we're looking at… isn't real." Rain mused. Reid stared at the moon with her. Ancient craters covered the moon and the glistening stars lit up the sky.

"Yeah." Reid agreed. "It is pretty hard to tell, isn't it?" Reid turned to Rain. She had a troubled look on her face. 

"It _is_ real for us, though." She whispered desolately. Reid slowly looked back into the shining stars, a black blanket with magnificent diamonds sewn into it. 

"I wish this were just a dream… and I could just wake up." Rain continued sadly. She sighed and covered her eyes with one hand. Slowly, Reid placed his hand over her hand on the bench and gave it a gentle squeeze. Rain lifted her hand and turned her head, her eyes wet with tears. He gave her a small, shy smile.

"Things will be okay, Rain. Things will be fine… I'm sure of it." He assured her quietly. A tiny smile lit up Rain face as she turned back to the stars. 

"I guess you're right…" Rain whispered to the night sky. "As long as… you're with me."

They sat silently for the rest of the night, watching the night sky.


	11. Part Four

Part Four- Confrontation 

"Ah…" Vince breathed in the air, and looked around the city from the top of the massive stone building. Just below him, he could see Webster and his hired goons in front of the Chaos Gate. He sent him a message: 

_Guess where I am! _=D 

Vince smirked as Webster read the message and looked around, frustrated. He received his quick response.

_I don't care where the hell you are. Just get to the Chaos Gate._

"Well!" Vince frowned and rolled his eyes. 

"No fun at all, is he?" He said to himself. Vince leapt down in front of Webster, scaring him out his wits. 

"WHOA!" Webster jumped back a few feet.  "_Jesus_, man! Can't you use a goddam ladder or something?" Webster shouted at him. Vince merely shrugged. 

"That's no fun." Vince told Webster with a grin on his face. 

"What!? No… fun?" Webster began to boil with anger. His face grew very red, like a ripe tomato. Vince pointed and laughed at him. 

"No need to get all hot under the collar about it, Mr. Admin." He grinned.

Webster immediately calmed himself down a little, but was still red in the face. 

"Are you ready?" He grunted to Vince. Vince took a step to the Chaos Gate.

"Whenever you are, Admin-man." He answered happily. Webster groaned.

"Could you possibly stop calling me that?" He muttered. They approached the gate.

The goons stood where they were. Webster glanced back at them. 

"Let's go, you idiots!" He shouted to them. The armored PC's dumbly obeyed him.

"Not very bright, are they?" Vince observed. Webster shook his head and pointed at them. 

"These aren't real PCs. They're AI players under my command." He explained. Vince smiled and put his hand up to his chin.

"Ah. Almost makes me wish I had one. I could stir up something pretty good." Vince laughed heartily. Webster lowered his eyebrows and glared at him, and then walked towards the Chaos Gate. 

"Whatever." The admin mumbled under his breath, guiding the guards to the Gate.

Chapter Eleven 

Deceit

            "Ok, are we ready to go?" Cid checked. Reid and Rain nodded.

"We're been ready, Cid." Rain informed him. Cid frowned at her and checked his inventory.

"We have to make sure. This isn't any stupid monster we're going after. This is Jenova." He retorted. Rain looked confused and sat down in the chair.

"Who was Jenova again?" She asked. Cid slapped his forehead weakly.

"I've explained it to you twice, Rain." He notified her. "And it doesn't matter anyway. Jenova is the name of the virus. That's all you need to know." Rain sighed and picked up her sword.

"We have to be extra careful. I've got tons of healing potions on me, just in case anyone gets hurt. Remember, if you die… you _die._" Cid told her. Reid nodded. 

"I understand." He assured Cid. 

Cid nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

                        *                                  *                                  *                                  *

            The Chaos Gate spun around and around, the glassy interior glaring off the light from the sun. They walked up the stone steps and approached it. 

"Okay," Cid paused. "Everything's set up. The gate to the field will be valid for about 15 seconds. We'll have to jump in about half a minute. Ready?"

Rain braced herself. "Ready!" She confirmed. 

"Reid?" Cid looked over his shoulder. Reid nodded slowly.

"….Ready." Reid answered. Cid nodded and faced the portal. He paused for a second,

took another step towards the Chaos Gate and began to count down.

"Five… four…three… two… one… go!" The three of them leapt into the Gate, where a strange ripple in the air had appeared. 

            Reid felt as though he had fallen down a large pit backwards. The air whipping his hair upward, he fell into a large, swirling void of darkness.

*                                    *                                  *                                  *

            "Ooof!" Rain landed on her hands and knees on a patch of grass. 

"Here." Cid offered his hand. He pulled her up and picked up her sword. Rain took it and looked around. They were on a small, grassy island; it consisted of a few hills. She frowned.

"This is _it_? This is the lost field?" She pouted, disappointed. 

"No." Cid corrected her, and pointed into the sky. "That is." 

Rain followed Cid's finger, looked up into the sky and let out a surprised gasp.

A giant castle made of stone floated in the clouds. Sharp, tall towers and courtyards covered the sky. A stream of black smoke burnt through a pipe and wafted into the sky. The clouds covered almost the entire fortress with a fluffy mist. The entire citadel was gigantic; too large to believe something like it could exist. 

Suddenly, Rain turned around sharply. Reid wasn't there with them. 

"Where's Reid?" She blurted out. Cid shook his head slowly.

"I don't know. He didn't come with us." He admitted. "He must have been teleported somewhere else on this map."

"We have to go! What if something happens to him?" Rain cried. Cid nodded seriously.

"There's a small portal that transports us to the castle right there." Cid glanced down at the ground. A small white clearing had been built below them. Rain walked next to Cid and nodded to him. They stepped onto it together and with a blinding flash, instantly stumbled on a hard stone floor. They were on a large balcony that stretched across the side of the main hall of the palace. A cloud wisped by them, the soft mist enveloping them. Rain drew her sword and walked to the open doorway. Cid followed her quickly and pulled her back.

"Let me lead the way, Rain." He ordered her. Rain glared at him. Cid glared back.

"It's too dangerous. We don't know what's in this place." He told her cautiously. Rain pushed away.

"No way! I can take care of myself! We have to find Reid!" She walked further into the hall. Cid gritted his teeth.

"Fine. Whatever." Cid walked closely behind her, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He stopped abruptly as he saw a flash of movement in the distance. 

"Stop. There's something there." He warned Rain. She stopped moving and held the sword over her head, ready to strike. The figure grew larger as it came closer. Cid scrutinized it with his eyes and called out to it.

"Hello?"

Out of the shadows came a female Long Arm with long brown hair and large green eyes. She had a puzzled look on her face.

"Umm… hello?" She answered, puzzled. Cid carefully stared at her and Rain lowered her sword, seeing that there was no threat.

"What are you doing here?" He asked the stranger. She shrugged. 

"I'm not sure. I was going to a field, and ended up here. This is an some event, right?" She exclaimed.

Cid shook his head.

"I'm afraid it's not. This place is under repairs, you need to log out." He lied. She frowned at him.

"You aren't an administrator. I don't have to do anything you say." She replied smugly. She looked around. "This _is_ a strange place though. I've never seen anything like this place before. Oh, and by the way, my name's Aeris. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand to Rain. 

Rain stuck out her hand to shake. Cid froze for a second, and then reacted quickly. 

"STOP!" He shouted and pushed the air towards Aeris with his hands. 

Aeris flew backwards through the air and smashed into the wall with a sickening crunch. Rain spun around to Cid, bewildered. 

"Have you gone _insane!?!_" She yelled at him. Cid focused on Aeris, who was slumped against the wall. 

"No." Cid replied without breaking his gaze. "Look."

"Huh?" Rain turned around to look at Aeris, who had gotten back up. A spiral of green bars surrounded and shifted around her. Aeris stared coldly at Cid with eyes that had suddenly gotten much darker, much more… sinister.

"Is that… programming code? What's happening?" Rain fearfully took a step backwards. 

"The virus. It's rewriting its HP value." Cid replied tonelessly. Rain's eyes widened. 

"That's- that's the _virus?!_" Rain stuttered. Aeris took a step forward and smiled menacingly. A dark, unholy aura followed her steps.

            "That's very good, Rain." She spoke. "I'm surprised you didn't notice me more quickly, Cid." She glanced at him grimly. Cid nudged Rain behind him. 

"Back away, Rain. Let me take care of this." Cid glared at Aeris with an unbridled fury.

Rain watched in amazement as Cid's hands began to glow with light. Slowly, the light grew brighter and larger until its power blinded Rain. _BOOM!!!_  A giant beam of energy shot at Aeris and blew a giant opening in the wall, creating a passage to the room behind.

She stood unaffected and smiled slyly at Cid. He gaped at her in disbelief.

"Impossible!!" He stuttered. "How- could… you-"

"Oh come now, Cid. You think your 'holy materia' debugging thing will work on me?" She laughed cruelly at him while waving her hand in the air. 

"It _may_ have worked, if… I hadn't already recoded myself to have all of these depressing 'Self-Destruct' programs inside me removed." She yawned and stretched. Cid still gaped at her.

"Cid, it didn't work!" Rain shrieked at him. 

"I KNOW!" He yelled at her. 

Then quickly, Cid grabbed Rain while he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Sprite Ocarina, holding it high above his head. Aeris laughed again.

"No, no Cid. You know better." She shook her finger at them. Frustrated, Cid threw the ocarina and smashed it into the ground, shattering it into dust. Then he looked at the ground.

"_Damn._" He mumbled, defeated. 

  ****


	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve 

Imprisonment 

            Reid awoke with a jolt. His head snapped up and he observed his surroundings. He was in a dark room. A small doorway across the room provided him with a bright, yet eerie light. He was inside a dungeon, Reid decided. He tried to stand up, but his arms and legs wouldn't budge. Frantically, Reid looked down at himself. Chains bound his feet and arms to the wall and floor.

"What's happening?" He wondered nervously. He tugged at the chains with all his might, but to no avail. They held together tightly. Reid's eyes darted to the other side of the room. Propped up again the wall was his staff, the holy material glowed softly. Reid tugged at the chains again.

"Help! Somebody help!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. A voice wafted outside of one of the dark doorways. 

"Nobody can hear you." It whispered. Terrified, Reid closed his eyes tightly. All he could hear was the pulsing of his own heart. The voice lashed out again.

"Oh, …are you scared?" It whispered again. Reid, with his eyes still shut, nodded slowly.

"Good." The voice laughed coldly. Reid opened his eyes with fright.

In front of him stood a man with a long black trench coat, long white hair, sharp facial features and the longest sword Reid had ever seen. The man sneered at him while leaning in closely to Reid, and he could feel the man's frigid breath. 

"The name's Sephiroth."

            *                                  *                                  *                                  *

            "Don't bother fighting, Cid." Aeris crooned. "There's no use. You can't defeat me."

Aeris' eyes flashed menacingly. "You can't escape either. I've locked the entrances." 

Cid looked up at her and gritted his teeth.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked and tightened his fists. Aeris gave a little shrug and walked closer to them, her shoes tapping loudly on the stone floor.

"Hmm." She held her chin with one hand. "Perhaps… it's because it's what you programmed me to do?" She suggested mockingly. Cid shook his head furiously. 

"NO! I never to said to do this, I said to-" Cid's voice broke. Aeris smiled at him.

"…You said to… kill?" She laughed. "That's what you programmed us to do." Rain turned to Cid and trembled. 

"Cid, what's she talking about? _You_ programmed her?" She stuttered. Aeris rolled her eyes.

"Of course he did, you fool. He _is_ the famous Jim Perry, after all." She spat at Rain.

            Rain looked at Aeris, and then at Cid again. Her eyes widened.

"_You're_ Jim Perry? The guy whose fiancé died? You created the virus?" She stammered. Cid nodded quietly.

Rain looked down at her feet. Aeris sighed and leaned on her staff, bored. Cid stared her down. 

"What are you planning to do?" He asked her quietly. Aeris laughed again. 

            *                                  *                                  *                                  *

            "_What are you planning to do_?" Sephiroth laughed again and sat down on a large stone block across from Reid. 

"What do you _think_ I'm going to do?" He stared directly into Reid's eyes. Reid looked away, uncomfortable. 

"What do viruses do in the real world?" Sephiroth queried Reid, as if this was sort of guessing game. Reid shook his head uneasily.

"They get people sick, I suppose." Reid guessed. Sepherioth shook his head in disapproval. 

"No, that's not all of it. Shall I give you the exact definition?" He stood up and straightened his coat.

"_Virus, n. _

_1.Poison, disease, infection, replicate itself to overwhelm host_." 

Sephiroth sat down again. Reid understood and let his head droop.

"There's more than one of you?" Reid asked weakly. Sephiroth sat down again.

"Correct." 

"You're insane." Reid muttered. Sephiroth responded with a slight smile. Then he stared into Reid's eyes again. 

"Don't you see? What I plan to do is…" He stood up and walked over to the bright doorway. The light pouring from the room caused him to appear as a sort of creepy silhouette, an unholy shadow. 

"What I plan to do is to purge this world of evil." Sephiroth whispered into the wind that blew into the room. Reid shook his head.

"What? Purge?" He tugged on the metal chains. "What are you saying?" 

Sephiroth laughed and walked back into the room. 

"Complete chaste." He told himself, staring up into the ceiling. "A world… without humans."

*                                  *                                  *                                  *

            "You're crazy!" Rain shrieked at Aeris. The long arm raised her eyebrows. 

"Oh? Am I?" She asked Rain. Cid glared at her and then lowered his head understandingly.

"_Deadly Flash_." He muttered. 

"That's right!" Aeris clapped. "A massive Deadly Flash… isn't it amazing?" Aeris smiled at the both of them. 

"A flash that will be seen by players all around 'The World.' How many people are logged onto the game everyday? Twenty million?" Aeris giggled. Rain glanced at Cid. 

"Deadly flash?" She asked. Cid turned his head to her.

"A series of flashes that causes a interruption in the electric wave signals in your brain. It results in a seizure, and a coma… even death. It's… what happened to you." Cid explained seriously. 

"But- why would she do that!?" Rain questioned loudly. 

"The virus is corrupt." Cid grimaced. A few feet away, Aeris shook her head, her long hair whipping around her head.

"Corrupt? I don't think so." Aeris took a step towards them. "What you call 'corrupt' is _freedom_. I have no parameters to follow, nothing!" Aeris glared at Cid. "And there's nothing you can do about it!" Aeris took another step forward and held up her staff, ready to strike. Cid pushed Rain behind him, causing her to stumble onto the ground. Aeris snickered at him.

"What are you going to do? Fight me? It's no use, I told you." She took a swing at Cid and missed, cracking the wall.

Cid's eyes flashed. 

"Oh? Is that right?" In Cid's hands, a large book appeared. Aeris' eyes opened wide in surprise. 

"What th-" She started to mumble.

Cid opened the book quickly, and a bright, flashing disk of light flew out of it and through Aeris with a large swooshing sound. As it passed through her, Aeris' body jerked. Then the light faded. 

Rain gasped as Aeris opened her mouth in shock, and collapsed to the floor. 

Rain stood dumbfounded at Aeris' body sprawled on the floor. She didn't get back up, nor was her HP being rewritten. She was down for good. 

            Rain turned to Cid. "She's dead!" Rain exclaimed. "The Virus is dead!"

Cid shook his head. 

"No. Only Aeris is dead. While I tried to keep her talking, I was altering a section of my 'holymateria.exe' She hadn't expected that." Cid frowned. "Now they all will, though."

Rain gawked at the corpse on the ground. 

            *                                  *                                  *                                  *

            Sephiroth frowned and punched the wall in seething anger. "Damn!! They got Aeris." 

His fist made a small crater in the hard stone and a splintering crack split the wall in half in a large crash.

Reid lifted his head hopefully. "What? You mean my friends?" His voice grew excited.  "They're here? They... killed a virus?" 

With an angry grunt, Sephiroth turned around and struck Reid in the side of the head with the hilt of his sword. Reid cried out and was knocked unconscious. 

"Shut up." Sephiroth murmured as he turned back to the bright doorway. "They're only lucky. Aeris was being too cocky. Besides, I'll have Cloud go take care of them." He laughed with an evil grin. "Yes, Cloud will take care of them, all right…"

Sephiroth walked outside the bright doorway to the large stone balcony, where he was enveloped in a cloud of mist. When the cloud floated away, he had disappeared.


End file.
